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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Strawberry Dream Cake, From Scratch!

This is the third recipe that I made, last Saturday. If you've read my last two posts on Carolina Red Slawand Boston Baked Beans, I've talked about how great the June/July issue of Cook's Country Magazine is. For some reason, I've been on a cake baking kick. I had a dozen egg whites, left over from my ice cream making phase. Not being one to waste food, I was pondering making a Pavlova or a white cake. Then, I spotted the Strawberry Dream Cake recipe! Perfect!

These are organically grown strawberries, from the Salinas Valley. These were freshly picked, that day. How I wish that more people could experience the sweetness of these beautiful berries. I'm fortunate to live 2 miles from the local farm that grows these. I pay $2.50 a pint!

I've seen several versions of this cake on different websites. Many of them used boxed cake and jello, to create the pink cake and artificial strawberry flavor. Cook's Country created a version of this cake, using real strawberries and scratch cake batter. That got my attention. To make the cake, we begin with frozen strawberries. Why? Apparently, the recipe author wanted this cake to be made any time of year. Strawberries are sacred in our kitchen. If I can't finish eating strawberries in their fresh state, I hull and freeze them.

Place the strawberries to a bowl, cover, and microwave until strawberries are soft and have released their juice, about 5 minutes.Place in fine-mesh strainer set over small saucepan. Firmly press fruit dry (juice should measure at least ¾ cup); reserve strawberry solids.

Bring juice to boil over medium-high heat and cook... (By the way, I just purchased this All-Clad Saucier pan, and I am so pleased with it!)

...stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to ¼ cup, 6 to 8 minutes. Whisk milk into juice until combined. Whisk strawberry milk, egg whites, and vanilla in bowl. Set aside.

Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and mix until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute.

Add half of milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining milk mixture, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Give batter final stir by hand.

Using a stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix butter and sugar on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
Increase speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.Add reserved strawberry solids and salt and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 days.

FROSTING TASTING NOTES: Bomb! I'm not the biggest fan of cream cheese frosting. This recipe has changed my mind. The ratio of butter to cream cheese is perfect. The strawberry flavor really shines through. It's a pretty color, and the consistency would pipe really well. This is my new favorite frosting!

Top with second cake round and spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake.

Garnish with remaining strawberries, if desired. I chose not to, for fear that the strawberries would turn to mush. Let's cut into the cake!

NOTE TO SELF: I should have chilled the cake a bit, as the frosting was very soft. Time to taste!

TASTING NOTES: I was a bit disappointed that the cake wasn't as pink as I thought it would be. If you're not afraid of some Red Dye-40, and you want a true pink, you might add a drop or two of red food coloring.The cake was a bit denser than I prefer; I also felt that it wasn't as moist as I had hoped. I'm a true fan of very tender white cake. The frosting was the star of this cake. I served a slice of this to our guests, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They loved it! Sure, there are several steps involved. The end result is worth it, and it's a very pretty cake!

For me, the real joy I have is in the challenge of making a new recipe. I'm amazed at the restraint I've had-- I only ate a 1/2 slice of this cake. The remaining cake was carted off to my husband's office, where it was eaten and appreciated by his co-workers. The next cake I plan to make is my favorite white cake with Swiss Buttercream and a lemon curd filling. This is where I could find myself in a lot of trouble-- it's my favorite cake of all time! That will happen in a couple of weeks, as I've promised this to a group of friends that I swim with at my sports club. You can bet I'll share the recipe with all of you.

Hi there, love the look of this cake - saw it on another very talented lady's blog. Based on your comments about density perhaps, do you think it would flop if I old fashionedly creamed the butter and sugar together and also perhaps whipped the egg whites separately and folded them in at the end, not too carefully as in chiffon (I gather that's not what this cake should be), and then just to add the wet stuff same order as other butter cakes? Have armsfull of strawberries, intend baking this tomorrow. Thanx for beautiful illustrations.

Dear Magarietha... I say, go for it! Try your technique! I think that I get the most tender cakes when I use cake flour. Sour cream or oil seems to help with moisture. This cake was very good, don't get me wrong. But, I think I'd have to watch closely to not over bake this one. I suspect, that perhaps I might have. Let me know if it works for you!

Thank you for your honest review of the recipe. I made this cake for Valentines but when we ate it.... well... it was all the things you said. The actual cake was not all I hoped it would be and I thought that perhaps it was an error on my part. Tasted good, just something was lacking for it to be a recipe I would keep.

I made this cake and the frosting turned out too runny and the cake itself was a bit too bland and not enough strawberry flavor for me. But searching the web, this recipe seems to be the best and most natural (but also the most labor intensive lol). Any suggestions of how my make my frosting more suitable for piping? I tried adding more sugar but then I felt the strawberry/cream cheese taste started to get a bit lost. Sigh. It looks so amazing in your pictures but mine was just very ordinary looking

Dear Anonymous:Are you the same Anonymous who left a comment on my applesauce muffins? Just curious.I was very honest about the cake myself. In retrospect, I think some strawberry flavor (maybe from Loranns) might help bring out the strawberry flavor. I said in my tasting notes that the cake was the star, in my honest opinion. As for the frosting-- I don't pipe cream cheese based frostings, because I find they are too soft. In fact, I mention how soft the frosting was and you can see it! For piping, I stick to buttercreams, Swiss buttercream or stabilized whipped creams. This summer, I hope to re-make this recipe with my idea of changes. No guarantees, but I always give my honest opinion to my readers.

I'm making this as I type for my daughters birthday today. I'm having trouble getting at least 3/4 cup of juice. I've got almost a 1/2 cup and have squished the strawberries until they look like blobs. What should I do?

This cake has a good flavor and is very tender. I added a bit of red food color to make it look strawberry-ish.

Problem: The cake fell pretty badly in the center. I notice on the Cook's Country video, theirs had a sunken center, too. My view is that this recipe has insufficient structure. Although this recipe is very similar to Rose Levy Beranbaum's "White Velvet Butter Cake", she has 3 cups of flour vs 2 1/4 in this one, with one fewer egg white. If I were to make it again, I'd increase the flour or decrease the baking powder.

I live in strawberry country, and haven't seen berries for that cheap of a price. Of course, the berries I buy are organically grown-- no pesticides, and that is worth the cost. Plus, they are ruby red throughout and so naturally sweet that I don't need to add sugar.

oh I like that it looks so tasty this so lovely cake i ever see here on internet.i love eating that's why im too fat now :)but most of the time what i eat are any kind of chocolates like milk chocolate ,French macarons, and macarons london and so on.well anyway that cake recipe above is interesting i wanna try that.

Thank You so much! I have been searching for days for a strawberry cake recipe and It takes a lot of time comparing and trying to figure out will the cake be dry or moist? Flavorful or not? I love and appreciate your honesty in your blog and review of the cake. Because while I might not be using this recipe (because of your honesty) I will be coming back to your blog and use your other recipes because of how honest you are. I can't tell you how many times I find a beautiful "looking" recipe and the person writing it raves about how amazing it was and for sure it really wasn't. Thank you, your blog is my new "go to" blog.

Welcome!

Welcome to my internet kitchen. Please, sit back and relax, and watch me make delicious food and bakery recipes. Most of my recipes are simple, flavorful meals-- and a few baked treats. I focus on using fresh, seasonal ingredients and I try to avoid using boxed mixes and processed foods. I'm having fun learning how to cook like my grandmother once did-- from scratch! I hope that my step-by-step photos will inspire a timid cook to try them. Even if you're a seasoned cook, hopefully you'll learn a new tip or two.

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